Daniel Ricciardo is the First Driver to Sample Monaco Track

Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo got a slight head start compared to the rest of the F1 grid. The Australian driver was in Monaco a couple of days ago, riding his scooter on the streets of the principality.

He recently posted a video on Instagram of himself traveling down through the Nouvelle chicane. Then he scooted past Tabac, Louis Chiron and Piscine in the short video. So far this season the Renault team have struggled with reliability and for pace.

In fact, they looked like the shadow of the team that finished as the best of the rest in 2018. It was purely a case of ‘how the mighty have fallen’, and even the signing of Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull, has not boosted their chances.

Coming back to the Monaco GP, the preparations are already in full swing inspite of a few issues. Just a week ago, the Monaco circuit played host to a Formula E race, won by Jean-Eric Vergne. However, a shorter layout was used for the Formula E cars, and now, the circuit will have to be reworked to cater to the Formula 1 cars.

At this circuit, qualifying is key here, as overtaking is highly difficult, so strategy is important. The Renault team and Daniel Ricciardo will be hoping for good qualifying sessions and keeping their noses clean and finishing in the points. So far this season, the team have not had both cars finish in the points.

Daniel Ricciardo

Recently, he opened up on his struggles with the French manufacturer in 2019. The Australian said, “A few people have been like sorry it is not really going as well for you as you probably hoped,”.

“Not in a negative way, but I did expect this. I knew that we were not going to start off competing for podiums straight away. So I expected a struggle somewhat. And I expected work needed to be done.”

“Where the team stands, I wish we were quicker but I still see a lot of areas where we can keep improving. So I’m still very optimistic that we can still hit the trajectory we were hoping for.”

Daniel Ricciardo continued, “We might be a bit behind it for now, but I am not discouraged at all. Also it is definitely too early in the season for me to be discouraged.”

“Just for the whole morale of the team it is important to address issues that need addressing but you still need to remain positive and confident and optimistic, otherwise…it is just managing everyone’s motivation.”

“But hand on heart personally I’ve been really good, and I still feel really comfortable and happy where I am. So I’m just excited to see some progress.”